Attorneys > Ara Jabagchourian
Ara Jabagchourian is a principal at Cotchett, Pitre & McCarthy, where he practices civil litigation in numerous areas. He received a dual B.A. in Philosophy and Economics from the California State University, Fresno. Upon graduation, he was awarded the Dean’s Medal from both the School of Arts and Humanities and the School of Social Science.
Jabagchourian received his J.D. from the University of California Hastings College of Law. While attending Hastings, he was a judicial extern for Presiding Justice James Ardaiz of the California Court of Appeal, Fifth Appellate District and Justice Marvin Baxter of the California Supreme Court.
Following law school, he worked for the Federal Trade Commission’s Bureau of Competition in Washington, D.C., in investigations dealing with conspiracies, monopolization and mergers. In 2001, he joined private practice, working on antitrust matters with an emphasis in antitrust/intellectual property overlap issues.
The American Trial Lawyers Association has selected Jabagchourian as one of the "Top 100 Trial Lawyers" in California for years. He was also selected as a Rising Star in Northern California, an honor bestowed on the top 2.5% of attorneys under the age of 40.
Jabagchourian has litigation and trial experience in numerous areas, including product defects, medical negligence, catastrophic personal injury, antitrust, construction fraud, corporate dissolution, contract disputes, securities litigation and complex business litigation. Examples of his cases include:
In 2004, in the case of Davis v. Hope Life Foundation, et al., he obtained a unanimous jury decision related to an out-of-state financial organization that defrauded its customers through sham trusts and promissory notes.
In Siller v. Siller Brothers, Inc., Frank M. Pitre and Jabagchourian obtained a multi-million dollar trial judgment in 2006 related to a corporate dissolution action filed on behalf of a minority shareholder.
In Murillo v. National Passenger Railroad Corporation, et al., he settled an action against Union Pacific and the State of California Department of Transportation related to the wrongful death of an elderly couple because of an allegedly defectively-designed railroad crossing. The case was brought on behalf of the children and grandchildren of the victims and settled in 2006.
In 2008, Jabagchourian represented Arthur Mkoyan, a Fresno high school valedictorian, and his family, who were facing imminent deportation after seeking asylum from the former Soviet Union in 1992. Arthur and his family were allowed to stay, with Arthur now attending college in California.
In 2008, Jabagchourian was also appointed as liaison counsel in the matter of In re: Crown Princess Listing Incident, a case involving the substantial tipping of a Princess Cruise Line ship off the coast of Florida. The action involved more than 200 injured plaintiffs. The action was filed in Los Angeles Superior Court.
Jabagchourian also has lectured on numerous legal topics before practicing attorneys and academics, including antitrust litigation, intellectual property, personal injury, trial techniques, evidence, discovery skills and federal government antitrust actions. He has also published several articles on various legal subjects, including including “Establishing ‘Alter Ego’ Liability,” Plaintiff, Vol. 3 No. 12, December 2009; “The Threat of Intervention in Your State Court Class Action,” Forum, Vol. 40 No. 1, January/February 2010; “Getting Your Injury Case Out Of Bankruptcy,” Plaintiff, Vol. 4 No. 3, March 2010, republished in Advocate, Vol. 37 No. 5, May 2010; “The Law On Predatory Pricing In California,” Competition: The Journal of the Antitrust and Unfair Competition Law Section of the State Bar of California, Vol. 19 No. 1, Spring 2010; and "Conflicts of Interest Arising from Successive Matters," California Litigation, Vol. 23 No.1, 2010. Jabagchourian also actively serves as a judicial arbitrator in San Mateo County.
Jabagchourian is a member of the Consumer Attorneys of California, the San Mateo Bar Association, the San Francisco Bar Association, the American Trial Lawyers Association, and a board member of the San Mateo Trial Lawyers Association.